Large-scale Russian strikes on Kyiv killed one person and wounded at least 31 others, city authorities said on Thursday (May 14, 2026), as Moscow ramped up attacks on Ukraine following a short-lived ceasefire.
AFP journalists in the capital heard air raid sirens wailing before a series of loud explosions that lasted throughout the night, spurring residents of the capital to seek shelter in metro stations.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had launched more than 670 attack drones and 56 missiles in the attack that homed in on targets mainly in Kyiv. "These are definitely not the actions of those who believe the war is coming to an end. It is important that partners do not remain silent about this strike," he wrote on social media, warning that more people could be trapped under the rubble at strike sites.
The Ukrainian leader added that more than twenty locations in Kyiv had been damaged, including residential buildings, a school, a vet and other civilian infrastructure.
Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv's military administration, said one person was killed and 16 others were wounded in the barrage on the city. Ukraine's state emergency service later reported 31 people, including a child, had been wounded in strikes across the Kyiv region.
Rescuers carry an injured woman from the rubble of an apartment building that was damaged and partially collapsed during Russian missile and drone strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine on May 14, 2026. | Photo Credit: Reuters
Military authorities said the strikes hit six districts of the capital and six more in the surrounding region. At daybreak, AFP journalists saw rescue workers searching for survivors in the rubble of destroyed buildings in Kyiv. Rescuers were seen hauling a wounded person from a partially collapsed residential building.
Ukraine's emergency service said those search and rescue operations were ongoing. Strikes from both Moscow and Kyiv resumed after Russia ended a three-day ceasefire with Ukraine on Tuesday (May 12, 2026).
Ukraine ties attack on Kyiv to the Beijing summit
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha tied the overnight attack to the Xi-Trump summit, saying the assault proved Russia was a threat to international security.
“At the very time when leaders of the most powerful countries are meeting in Beijing, and the world hopes for peace, predictability and cooperation, Putin launched hundreds of drones, ballistic and cruise missiles at the capital of Ukraine,” Mr. Sybiha said on Telegram.
He said there should be “no illusions” about ending the Russian war on Ukraine. “Only pressure on Moscow can make him stop,” he said of President Putin, adding that U.S. and Chinese leaders had sufficient leverage to compel Russia to end the conflict.
U.S. President Donald Trump had announced the pause last week, hours before Russian leader Vladimir Putin presided over a scaled-down military parade in Red Square to mark the anniversary of victory in World War II. Mr. Zelenskyy has urged Trump to discuss ending the conflict during his meetings this week with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Rescuers work at the site of an apartment building damaged during Russian missile and drone strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine on May 14, 2026. | Photo Credit: Reuters
Russia has pounded Ukrainian cities for more than four years, but it usually launches large-scale drone and missile attacks at night. One day earlier, a barrage of "at least 800 Russian drones" targeting mainly western Ukraine killed six people and wounded dozens of others.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has spurred the worst conflict in Europe since World War II, killing hundreds of thousands of people and displacing millions more.
With inputs from AFP, AP